Hosiery



Jan. 12, 1937.

(5. GASTRICH HQSIEBY V Filed Augwze, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO'RZ' q-usfavqasimh, ATTORN%.

Jan. 12, 1937,

G. GASTRICH HOSIERY Filed Aug. 26. 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: gush Gash-1271 BY ATTORgV Patented Jan. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Gustav Gastrich,

HOSIERY Wyomissing, Pa., assignor to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 26, 1933, Serial No. 686,922

4 Claims.

during a continuous operation of a single machine; in either case effecting an uninterrupted structure of knitted fabric which, when seamed and looped together in the usual manner, will produce-a stocking fashioned to conform with the shape of the member on which it is eventually to be worn.

The welt portion, which normally marks the beginning of a full fashioned stocking, ordinarily comprises a two-ply or double wall structure which is formed by folding the welt portion and transferring the stitches of the first knitted course back to the needles when the leg portion is tobe started, in this way interknitting the first and last courses of the welt and consequently preventing the raveling of the fabric which would normally' occur were the loops 'of the first course permitted to remain as the selvedge edge of welt.

When knitting a stocking the first course, ordinarily a loose course, is laid across the noses of the sinkers and dividers and forced thereby between the needles; the machine is then turned until the" needles have moved downward sufiiciently to catch the thread under their respective beards and the sinkers and dividers have been drawn back until the loops are about ready to fall from their noses. At this juncture the welt bars are operatively positioned, the welt hooks being inserted sufficiently deep between the needles to be positioned between the lower edge of the sinkers and dividers and the upper surface of the knockover bits. A further movement of the machine causes the loops to clear the sinkers and dividers, while a forward upward movement of the welt bar brings the welt hooks into hooking engagement with the sinker and divider loops. The welt bar is then connected to the draw-off motion and the fabrication of the welt continued.

After' a sufiicient length of fabric has been knitted to form the welt, the machine is stopped, with the needles up and the sinkers and dividers retracted, and the usual welt turning operation effected during which the sinker and divider loops, now held by the welt hooks, are topped therefrom onto the needles to produce a folded or two-ply welt. The welt bars are then removed and wire rods placed in the folded hem or welt portion through which connection is made with the draw-off motion. During the knitting of the succeeding course single loops are interlaced with the double stitches, now maintained by each needle as a result of the welt turning operation, after which the fabrication of the leg portion is continued in the usual manher.

an essential operation necessarily associated with the production of two-ply welt full fashioned hosiery inasmuch as no method has heretofore been introduced by which selvedge coln'ses could be produced whose structure would be ravel- 15 proof. Thus although the double wall structure of the welt is not always desirable, its employment has heretofore been necessitated partly because of the tendency towards raveling which is characteristic of free ends of knitted fabric.

In accordance with the present invention I 20 provide a selvedge for a single ply welt forming the upper end of full fashioned hosiery which in addition to being ravel-proof will likewise possess the proper degree of elasticity proportional to the remainder of the knitted fabric. I pref- 25 erably use an elastic yarn such, for instance, as Lastex, or any other suitable stretchable yarn, to form the first row of loops of the welt and I interloop the loops of said first course with the needle loops of the second course. I have found 30 the Lastex yarn quite unbreakable under conditions encountered by stockings. The elastic yarn, due to its elastic properties, when subsequently substantially straightened definitely ar- .ranges the loops of the selvedgein a manner to readily drawn on and from the member upon which it is to be worn, and likewise effects a snug fit thereon. This elastic feature also results in a slight degree of garter action which aids in keeping the stocking in the correct longitudinal and circumferential position on the leg member upon which it is worn, in addition to preventing curling of the free end thereof.

Accordingly, one object of my invention is to provide a novel single-ply welt structure for full The turning of the welt as above described is 10 fashioned hosiery, in which the first course of loops forming the upper or free edge thereof has a ravel-preventing thread passing therethrough whereby the entire welt structure is made ravel-proof.

Another object of my invention is to provide an elastic ravel-proof edge structure to promote the correct fit of the top of the stocking as well as to substantially ensure against rupture of such structure.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, my invention resides in the novel fabrics, and articles, and method of producing the same, as

hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a. side elevation of a conventional full fashioned stocking including the present novel welt selvedge construction; I

Fig. 2 is a magnified plan view showing the loop formation of my novel welt structure;

Fig. 3 is a progression of Fig. 2 showing the end thread drawn taut; V

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4, Fi 1;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are progressional diagrammatic views illustrating the mechanism and manner in which my novel welt structure is produced.

Preparatory to the fabricationof my singleply welt the knitting machine is turned to the customary starting position in which the needles II, rigidly maintained in spaced relationship in the needle bar I2 by means of the clamps I3, are elevated as shown in Fig. 5, the sin'kers I4 and dividers I5, meanwhile, being in their retracted position, and the knockover bits I6 maintaining the relative position shown. With the various members thus positioned the elastic yarn I1 is laid across the noses of the sinkers I4 and dividers I5 and successively sunk thereby between the spaced needles II to form the: sinker (S), needle (N), and divider (D) loops respectively, substantially as shown in Fig. 5. The procedure thus far detailed corresponds with the usual well known method of producing the normal knitted course. Now, however, in order to effect a ravelin turn slidably and rotatively mounted in the bearing 24 which in turn is supported by the front narrowingshaft 25. The front narrowing shaft 25 is rigidly held in brackets 26 and maintained in parallel alignment with the back narrowing shaft 21 by means of the guide arms 28 in the manner shown in Fig. 5. Upward and downward motion is imparted to the front narrowing shaft 25, and consequently to the points I8, by means of cam controlled levers (not shown) joined to the front narrowing shaft 25.

As will be observed in the accompanying drawings, the point members I8 are formed to coact with the beards I la of selected needles II :for the purpose of closing the beards before the loops are positioned therebeneath, and in this way causing the loops (N) on selected point aligned needles to slide over the outside of the beards Ila instead of thereunder as is normally done. Thus, with the various parts positioned as in Fig. 5, and the sinker (S), needle (N) and divider (D) loops arranged as shown, the machine is further advanced through its cycle causing the needles II to descend while the sinkers I4 and dividers I5 are gradually retracted. Meanwhile the point bars I9 are prevented from further descent by means of auxiliary equipment, such for instance as shown and described in my co-pending applicatlon, Serial No. 606,795, filed April 22, 1932.

After the beards Ila of the needles II have entered between the knockover bits I6 the ma-' chine is stopped and the welt bars 29 inserted in, the usual manner. The machine is again turned until the sinkers I4 and dividers I5 are in their inoperative retracted positions and the needles II have descended below the upper surface of the knockover bits I6, while adjacent sinker and divider loops, indicated at S and D in Fig. 5, are caught by the welt hooks 3| as shown in Fig. 6. The welt hooks 3| are then, in turn, attached to the draw-01f motion (not shown) and the fabrication of the welt (A) is continued in the usual manner.

It will here be observed that the loops (N) of the point'aligned needles have been cast therefrom whereas the intermediate needles retain their respective loops in the usual manner. Thus, adjacent welt hooks, insteadof individually retaining separate sinker (S) and divider (D) loops, now combinedly maintain a single loop (E) composed of a. released needle loop (N) in addition to the adjacent sinker and divider loops, substantially as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7.

During the return of the needles II to their starting position, the points I8 are likewise raised to the relative position shown and then inoperatively positioned by means of a forward upward rotative movement of the rod 22. The points I8 are thus maintained in their inoperative positions until the fabrication of the leg blank of the stocking, Fig. 1, has been completed,

after which the point bar I9 is again lowered.

into their point operating position preparatory to the fabrication of another welt (A).

With the points I8 inoperatively positioned the second course is produced in the usual well known manner; consequently, during the looping operation of the latter the uninterrupted series of needle loops are interknit with the loops of the previous course to effect the structure shown in Figs. 2 and 7. As there shown, the loops intermediate the needle loops of the second course are interlooped with the needle loops of the previous course, (see Fig. 6,) in the manner necessary to eifect the desired ravel-proof edge by which my single-ply welt construction for full fashioned hosiery is distinguished.

Likewise, following the completion of the ravel-proof course, the elastic-thread carrier may readily be replaced by a carrier containing yarn of the desired qualities for completingthe welt, or the knitting with the elastic yarn may be. continued if an all-elastic welt is desired. The yarn used to form the body of my novel welt (A) preferably embodies such properties that the resulting Welt portion will possess qualities comparable with those ordinarily associated with the usual two-fold welt. The knittedwelt fabric first appears as shown in Fig. 2; and when the elastic yarn I! has straightened, the completed fabric will appear as shown in Fig. 3.

Furthermore, I accomplish said desired structure while efiecting an appreciable saving in both time and material, due to the fact that the welt turning operation is eliminated while a fifty per cent saving in yarn is effected by making the welt of single-ply construction, as in Fig. 4, instead of the usual double wall type. In order to eifect my novel single-ply welt possessing the desired degree of strength, elasticity and wear-resisting properties while, however eliminating the undesired bulkiness ordinarily associated with the usual two-fold or double-ply structure, I use a heavier and more durable yarn than is normally employed to knit the folded welt; the yarn of welt A, likewise is substantially heavier than that used to fabricate the main body portions of the leg B and foot C; the relative thickness of said welt A and the leg portion B is more or less diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 4. Thus the welt A consequently possesses sufficient strength to resist the wear created by the engaging and disengaging of the usual garter-clasps as well as the strains transmitted thereto, as, for example, occasioned by the bending of the knee.

The arrangement of the loops in my ravelproof course, relative to the loops of the remainder of the welt portion, is illustrated in the enlarged view of Fig. 2. If the yarn I1 is of the usual non-elastic type it will retain the sealloped effect (see Fig. 2) when the welt is unstretched and will be drawn taut as in Fig. 3, only when coursewise tension is applied. However, if elastic yarn is used to form the initial course the yarn H will normally contract to produce the transverse tie member, as in Fig. 3, coursewise stretching likewise being permitted in this case because of the elastic properties of the yarn l1. In accordance with Fig. 3, the yarn I1 is interlaced with the loops of the adjacent course in such a manner as to effect the desired ravel-proof selvedge.

Thus in conjunction with effecting an appreciable saving of time by eliminating the usual welt turning operation in addition to saving fifty per cent of material without sacrificing any degree of strength, elasticity or durability, as compared with the usual two-fold welt construction, I further provide a means whereby a ravelproof edge may be incorporated as the first course of knitted loops and consequently permit the adoption of a single-ply knitted fabric as the welt portion of full fashioned hosiery.

Of course, the improvement specifically shown and described, by which I obtain the above results, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A stocking comprising "2, ravel-proof top edge consisting of a marginal body yarn course and an elastic yarn separate from the body yarn extending substantially parallel to said top edge through all of the loops of said course.

2. A full-fashioned stocking comprising a ravel-proof top edge consisting of a marginal body yarn course and a rubber-cored yarn separate from the body yarn extending substantially parallel to said top edge through all of the loops of said course and joined at its ends adjacent to the back seam of the stocking.

3. A full fashioned stocking including a ravelproof knitted top edge consisting of a marginal yarn course and a rubber cored yarn separate from the yarn of said marginal course extending substantially parallel to said top edge through all the loops of said course and threading through adjacent loops thereofv from opposite directions and joined at itsends adjacent the back seam of the stocking.

4. A stocking having a single ply welt comprising a ravel proof top edge consisting of a marginal body yarn course and an elastic yarn separate from the body yarn of said welt and extending substantially parallel to said edge through all the loops of said course.

GUSTAV GASTRICH. 

